Method and means for producing stocking welt construction



Aug. 21, 1945. o. F. SMETANA 2,383,350 I METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING STOCKING WELT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 19, 1942 7 Sheets-Shet l 3nventor I I OTTO Sham/-19 o. F. SMETANA v 2,383,350

Aug. 21, 1945.

METHQD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING STOCKING WELT CbNSTRUCTION 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 19, 1942 Q'iiorneys Aug. 21, 1945. 0. F. SMETANA 2,383,350

'METHOD AND; MEANS FOR PRODUCING STOCKING WEIL'I CONSTRUCTION I Filed Sept. 19, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet s attorneys Aug. 21, 1945. 2,383,350

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUdING STOCKING WELT CONSTRUCTION o. F. SMETANA 7, Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 19. 1942 SIM mm &m

- QTTO E 5M attorneys Aug. 21, 1945. 6. F. SMETANA 7 2,383,350

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING STOCKING WELT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 19, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 t b i u 21, 1945. o. F. SMETA'NA 2,383,350

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRODUCING STOCKING WELT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 19, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Jnventor:

OTTO F SMETAHA Gttoxnegs Aug. 21, 1945. i o. F. SMETANA Hlil! Filed Sept. 19, 1942 3nnentor OTTO F Smzrnnn wwaww (Ittorneg S Patented Aug. .21, 1945 METHGD AND S FUR PRUDUCING STUCKING WELT (CONSTRUCTHUN Qtto F. Smetana, Concord, N. 0.,

Application September 19, 1942, Serial No. 458,982

lli Claims.

' I by the lmitting needles upon the hooks of a transfor her, aiter which additional courses are added to the loose course until a welt fabric of the desired length has been formed. Then the initial course and transfer bar are returned to the kni ting needles Where the initial course is interknit= ted. with the fabric, thus forming a welt ot a double thickness, In order to properly transfer the loops of the initial course to the needles, considerable skill and experience are necessary, be cause the loops of the initial course must be matched with the loops upon the needles and then the transfer bar must be manipulated successively into several positions so that the welt hooks can be removed when the course has been transferred. This operation involves much labor, loss of production and frequently is the source of many defects in the finished stocking.

It is an object of this invention to provide a welt transfer bar which simplifies the transfer operation to such an extent that highly skilled labor is not necessary to accomplish the same.

It is another object or this invention to provide a welt transfer bar which has means for expand:- ing or distending the loops of the initial course during a transfer operation a sufiicient amount to permit the open welt hooks to pass through the loops after the transfer to the needles has course and draw it downwardly upon the shanks of the welt hooks. Since the hooks of both the long and short welt members have been moved inwardly beyond the first course, it is evident that the welt bar cannot be withdrawn horizontally without all of the hooks engaging the first course.

When the first course has been engaged, the machine is stopped to permit the take-up straps to be attached to the welt bar. The horizontal pull l0 oi the attached straps will cause the welt bar to move horizontally away from the needles a distance equal to the space between the first and second course, thereby completely withdrawing the short hooks from between the needles while the it ends of the alternate long welt hooks still remain between the needles and in position for receiving the second course; The machine is again started and the second course is initially deposited upon the miles of the dividers and sinkers, after which the needle hooks are lowered and the sinkers and remaining loops of the second course will be knitted when the needles are lowered because the short hooks have been withdrawn from between the needle hooks when the takeup strap were applied.

operation; however, the manual operation is simple and easily accomplished. Therefore, whenthe two initial courses are returned to the needles, the two loops held by each long hook will be inbcen effected-thereby permitting the Welt bar to tor-knitted with a course in the stocking and be removed from the fabric.

It is another object of this invention to provide a welt transfer bar having alternate long and short hook members for engaging the loops of the initial welt courses. The difference in the length of the long anli short hook members should be at least as great as the distance between the first two of the initial courses of the stocking welt. Thi difierence in length permits both the long and short hooks to receive theinitial welt course one only the long hooks tofrece'ive the second Y course. For example, when attaching the initial courses of astocking on the long and short welt hooks. all of the hooks are inserted horizontally between the vertically disposed needles to "a point beyond the first course, which course is initially supported by thenibs of the 'slnkcrs and dividers needle hooks engage the above-mentioned first 55 It is still another object 40 with the stocking leg. This lock stitch prevents runs which start in the welt from passing into the stocking leg. v

of this invention to provide an improved full-fashioned hosiery welt having theaforementioned lock stitch construction which prevents dropped stitches in the welt from running into the stocking leg.

It is another object of this invention to provide I a welt bar comprising a plurality of hook mem; 5o bers having loop expanding elements .assoc'mted therewith, the loop expanding elements on alternate hook members bein staggered with relation to the loop expanding elements on the remainidg hook members. By staggering the expanding ele- The attachment of the initial courses obviously involves a certain amount of manual ments, only a portion of the loops in the initial course or courses'will be simultaneously expanded, thereby permitting slack to be borrowed from the adjacent loops. Wh'n'the initial ourse or courses have passed over the first set "expanding elements they ride 'uporithe expanding elements or the remaining elements, at which time slack is borrowed from the previously expanded adjacent loops.

An additional advantage, in providing alternate hooks of a greater length than the remaining hooks, is gained when returning the initial course to the needles. Alternate long and short hooked elements facilitates placing the bar in the proper relationship to the sinkers and knock-over bits because the alternate long hooks serve as leads or guides when the initial course is returned. At the same time, the two initial courses are held in a stable position on the welt bar to permit the transfer of only a portion of the loops at one time to the knitting needles. I

It is still another objectof this invention to provide a welt bar of the class described which is semi-automatic in operation. As a general rule,

full-fashioned hosiery machines comprise a plurality of stocking units which are simultaneously operated from a common source of power, and

therefore, an individual welt bar accompanies 68 in Figure 5, illustrating the structureof one of the long points in association with the initial I welt course; "s

Figure 7 is an elevation similar to the central portion of Figure 3 showingthe relative positions of the welt hooks and points;

Figure 8 is a view similar to the left-hand portion of Figure 3 but showing the process of expanding the loops of the initial course during a transfer operation to thereby permit the open welt hooks to pass upwardly through these loops while the welt bar is being removed;

. Figure 9 is an isometric view illustrating the positions of the welt hooks, alternately spaced long points, sinkers, dividers, together with the two layers of welt fabric during the returning of the initial course to the needles;

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 but showing the reverse sides of the welt hooks, points, and knitting needles, and omitting the fabric therefrom;

Figure 11 is an isometric view similar to Figure 9, illustrating the position of the welt implement as it appears when firstpositioned between the knock-over bits and upon the needles;

.Figure 12 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 3 but showing a slightly modified form of welt bar in association with the sinkers and knock-over bits while the initial course is being knitted;

Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 12 but showing the position of the welt bar or implement after the welt has been knitted and while after which the machine is started and knitting oi the shadow welt or leg proceeds. The present invention therefore makes it possible to simultaneously close the welts of all the stocking blanks on the respective units by the operation of the machine after all of the welt bars and initial courses have been positioned upon the needles. The returned welt bars are supported by the needles, which needles fit in longitudinal slots disposed ineachwelt hook. J

Some or. the objects of th invention having been stated, other objects wil appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of one unitof a fiat or full-fashioned knitting machine showing one sociated therewith;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-4 in Figure 1 Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view similar to the left-{hand portion of Figure 2 trating the welt baf or implement in bold line position after a portion of the welt has been knitted, and also illustrating the welt bar or implement in dotted. ltiiiposition when the initial course or courses are g returned to the knitting needles;

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan View showing the position of the fabric between the knitting needles and the welt'bar after the second course has been knitted;

Figure 5 is a plan view taken along the lines 5-5 in Figure 3 illustrating alternately spaced long points supporting alternate loops or the initial welt course while shorter hooks support the remaining loops;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line the initial loose course is being returned to the knitting needles;

Figure 14 is a plan view taken along line H-Il in Figure 13; v

Figure 15 is a view similar to Figure 13 but showing the next step after the initial course has been returned and knitted to the welt fabric, namely the expansion of the loops of the returned course to permit the welt hook to pass therethrough without engaging the same;

Figure 16 is ,an isometric view of the welt hooks associated'with the bar shown in Figure 14, said view illustrating a staggered relationship of the loop expanding means;

Figure 17 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 3 but showing another modified form of welt bar or implement as the same appears when retuming the initial loose course to the knitting needies;

Figure 18 is an isometric view illustrating the welt bar and associated welt fabric when the same are returned to bold line position as shown in Figure 17;

Figure 19 is an isometric view showing the opposite sides of a welt hook and point from the side shown in Figure .18, said view exposing the bearded sides of the knitting needle and welt hook;

extending therethrough for the reception of a knitting needle during" the transfer of the initial I welt courses to the needles;

Figure 23 is an enlarged view similar to the central portion of Figure 22 but showing the welt bar elevated to a slightly higher position;

Figure 24 is an isometric view of a portion of the welt bar shown in Figure 22;

Figure 25 is an isometric view of still another 4 ing the lock stitch junction at the point where the initial weltcourse is returned tothe leg of the stockin Figure 29 is an isometric view further illustrating the lock stitch junction where the initial The rail ll supports top and bottom sinker beds It and I6 respectively, which beds slidably confine spaced sinkers ll and alternately spaced dividers l8 therebetween; (See Figures 8 and 9.)

ZED

Rail it also supports in a conventional manner plate member 20, which, in turn, supports spaced knock-over bits 2i, there being a knock-over bit for each sinker and also a knock-over bit for each divider. (Figures 8 and ii.)

A bearded knitting needle 23 is mounted for vertical movement in each' space between the sinkers ll and the dividers H8. The lower ends of these'needlesare attached to a bar 2 5; (Fig ure 1) which is operated in a conventional'manner by a conventional mechanism, not shown.

'During the knitting of a stocking one or more yarn carriers 25 are moved back and forth longitudinally of the sinker bed plate 15 to thereby feed astrand or strands it to the bearded hooks of needles 23. (Figures 1 and 2.)- When the strand 26 has been deposited on top of the sinkers and below the beardsof the needles 23, the needles are then lowered to knit the strands. The sinkers H and dividers it move horizontally back and forth in timed relation to the ver-= tical movement of the needles fiii to'cause the loops to be shed and thus clear the beards of the needles 23 so that a successive course .can be knitted.

When a stocking is begun, it is general practice to first knit a loose course and attach the same to the hooks of a welt bar such as it, This process of attachment may be effected inmany ways, however, it is well to state that it can be As a. means for supporting the ends of the welt implement 2?, suitable guides 3i. are secured as at 32 to the table member l2. normally exerted by the take-up roll 3t maintains a tension in the straps 29 and in the knitit and thus causes the welt bar to follow a defined path.

The structure thus far described. is conventional in full-fashioned hosiery machines, but it is thought that this much of the conventional mechanism should be described to more fully disclose the advantages of the present invention.

Figures 3 to 9 inclusive illustrate one formof my improved welt bar or implement and the method employed of forming a welt when using the same. spaced parallel short and long hook elements 33 and 3d respectively extending from. one edge thereof. Each of the hook elements 33 has a reversely bent hook it upon one end thereof which is employed for engaging and holding alternate sinker loops of the initial or setting up course in a stocking welt.

in the present disclosure the end of each hook has a ball point it? integral therewith and this with and disposed adjacent the point where its accomplished by first feeding a strand 2B beneath the beards of the raised needles and on top of the extended sinkers to form the first welt course.

Then, with the needles partially down between the sinkers I1 and dividers l8 and with the stitches hanging over the nibs of the sinkers and dividers, the welt hooks are inserted in the first course beneath the sinkers and dividers, after which the knitting needles 23 are completely 1owered simultaneously with the retraction of the sinkers and the dividers to release the sinker loops of the first course upon the welt bar hooks.

point serves as a yarn guide. when attaching or removing the initial course to or from the welt bar.

Adjacent each book 35 andon the seine side *of the welt bar are a pair of cam projections st,

loop is held. These projections d2, however, are staggered with relation to projections 38 on the adjacent needles so that during transfer only alternate loops in the initial courses will be disposed upon the cam projections at a time. The function of these projections during a transfer operation will be later described.

On the back of each hook element 3?; is a lon gituclinal groove or slot 39 which is employed for 23a oi its associated needles during a transfer This first course is then attached onto the hooks of the welt bar Zl. Then it is only necessary topull the welt bar horizontally away from needles 2; and attach it to suitable welt straps 29,

operation.

It will be noted that the ends of long hooks 3 3 extends. substantial distance beyond the ends of short hooks 33 (Figures 3 to 10 inclusive.)

which straps apply a constant tension to .the m the initial courses In order to effectively operfabr'icwhile successive courses are being knitted.-\ (See Figures land 2.5 The other end of 'straps a walewise distance beyond the end of short hook 29 are secured to a conventional take-up=roll 30 Y which is secured upon the shaft I4 previously described. 0 v

ate this bar, it is desirable to locate projection 4i 33, and this. distance should be at least equal to the distance between the first two courses. This distance permits all or the hook members 33 and The pull which is This welt bar 2? has a plurality-of (Figure 3).

succeeding course. More specifically, when attaching the first two courses to the welt hooks, it

'is first necessary to insert welt members 33 and.

h duently, a very short ball 4| will effectively serve 34 horizontally between needles 23 and upon knock-over bits 2| until the ball 31 of member 33 is disposed to the left of needle beard 23a It is of course understood that the needles will be raised and that the nibs of the sinkers il anddividers (8 will be projected to the right from the positions shown. The thread guide will then deposit the initial course upon the nibs or ends of the sinkers and dividersafter which the needles 23 will be lowered to cause the beards 23a to engage the deposited first course. As the needles continue to lower, the sinkers and dividersare simultaneously retracted to the position shown in Figure 3, thus releasing the first course and permitting it to be deposited uponthe shanks of the long and short welt members 33 and 34. At this time, the machine is stopped to permit the take-up straps 29 to be attached to the welt bar 27. The tensionexerted by the straps will withdraw the horizontal welt bar to the right a sufficient distance to cause the left-hand end of hook 35, asviewed in Figure '7, to be disposed to the right of needle 23 (Figure 3). and to cause the-hook or ballportion 4] to be disposed to the 4 left of needle beard 23a. The mach ne is again started to cause the needles to rise and the sinkers and dividers to be moved outwardly to the right of the position shown in Figure 3. Then the second course is fed tothe needles in a similar manner as described regarding the first course, but due to the change of position of the welt bar as a result of the take-up straps, the second course will be engaged only by. the long welt members 34, since the short members have been moved horizontally out of the downward path of travel of the needles 23; consequently, the loops of the second course between the long hook members will be knitted into a fabric. When these initial courses are returned to the needles 23 to form a welt, an anti-run barrier will be set up at the junction line of the'initial courses with the leg of the stocking, which barrier will prevent welt runs from extending into the leg portion of the stocking.

It is seen in Figures 3, 4, and 5 that the projecting ends of the long hools 34 serve to support the alternate loops of the loose course. 36 and thus permit these alternate loops to creep farther to the left than the remaining loops which are engaged by the hooks 35; In other words. the alternate loops are supported by the long hooks but are allowed to slide longitudinally to,produce a greaterslack in the loops engaged by the hooks 35. This is a very important part of the invention because one of the principal advantages in providing a welt bar 21 of this type is in having means for distendingthe alternate loops held by the hooks 35 during a transfer operation to thereby permit the 'bar to be removed from the fabric in a rectilinear path during transfer without allowing the openhooks toengage theloops.

In Figures 3 and 7 the relative positions of the long and short hooks are shown. The end of long hook 34 is bent upwardly so that its associated short loop will be held slightly higher than the adjacent long loop disposed on hook 33. Since 'the long loop causes the short loop to be under as a hook. Also by having the ball 4| serving as a hook, the engaged loops may be more easily" transferred when the initial courses are returned to the needles.

In order to be more explicit, as to the function i of the alternate long hooks and alternate short hooks, letus refer again to Figures 4 and 5. It is seen that the loose course 36 has a V-shaped kink of considerable depth as at 45 where the hooks 35 engage the same. The alternate loops, which are supported by the long hooks 34 do not have asharp kink therein but are allowed to have substantially less bend where the loops cross over the tops of the hooks 34 as at 46.

There is another decided advantage in having alternately spaced long and short hooks, namely, the holding of the kinked loops 45 and 46 of the first course in a stable position when manipulating the welt bar. In other words, when raising the welt bar from horizontal position'to an upright transfer position, (Figure 3) the first course 36 is not subject to rotation about the hooks because the loops 4B are engaged by hooks 4| along one line whereas the remaining loops 45 are engaged by hooks 35 which are located along another parallel line which is disposed a considerable distance to the right in Figure 4. This engagement of the loose course 36 along two separate parallel lines permits a better control of the fabric while manipulating the welt bar. If each loop 45 and 46 were engaged by alined hook elements 35, then if the welt bar should be manipulated, the first course and attached fabric would be free to rotate upon the hooks of the needles and hang in a substantially vertical position whenever the welt bar changed its elevation or position.

Each of the long hooks 34 has a knee portion 41 which is employed for limiting the uppermost position which the loops of the initial loose courses can occupy when a transfer is being effected. These knees also serve as a means for ures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and after a suflicient length of the welt has been knitted, a rod 48 is laid on top of the knitted welt, that is, in the dotted line position shown in Figure 3. Then the initial courses, which are moved on the hooks 35 and 4l, are slipped over the cam projections 33 and 42 and upon the shank of the hook elements 33 and '34 until the alternate loops enga e the knee portions 41. At this time the hook elements 33 and 34 substantially occupy the dotted line posi-. tion shown in Figure 3. In this dotted line position the grooves 39 and 40 in the backs of hook elements 33 and 34 respectively fit against the beards 23a of the needles 23. Figures 8 to 11 inclusive clearly show this transfer position. In Figure 11, the welt fabric is'omitted for the sake of clearness. In other words, the position of the welt bar 21 in Figure 11 corresponds to the dotted line position of the bar in Figure 3.

When the bar is first returned to the needles, it is necessary to properly position the same so that the loops of the initial courses will match the loops upon the needles 23. .The elongated hooks 34, that is, that portion oi. each hook34 which projects beyond the ends of hooks 35, serve as a guide during the insertion of the points and hooks upon the needles. When the proper position of the long hooks has been attained, the intermediate hooks will also be in the proper P sitlons above the corresponding needles 23. en

all of the hooks 33 and 34 are completely inserted to the lowermost position which is shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. In this dotted line position, the

loose course will be disposed below the sinker and divider level. 4

With the,'returned bar in an inserted position, the machine-is operated a suflicient amount to cause the needles 23, the associated hooks 34 and 55, to be simultaneously raised.

During the raising of the welt bar and needles 23, the sinkers l1 and dividers 18 will move forward to substantially the position shown in Figures 8 and 9, to prevent the returned loose course 36 from rising. Therefore, when the returned initial courses engage the bottom of the sinkers l1 and dividers 18, the hooks 33 and 34 will slide upwardly though the loops 45 and 46. .When the cam surfaces 38 reach thedoops 45 on the hook elements 33, the loops will be expanded sufilciently are moved upwardly. Of course, when the open toprovide ample clearance for the passage of open hooks 35, as thesehooks and associated'welt bar hooks pass through the expanded or distended loops (in the loose courses, slack is borrowed from s the adjacent loops 46, thus decreasing the siz of this loop.

Immediately after the distended loops ass over the balls 31 of hooks 35, the adjacent loops 48 begin to ride upon cam projections 42 of the adjacent'hooks to thereby cause these loops 45 to expanded. Since the loops 45, at this time, are oi! the cams 38, ample slack may bejborrowed by loops 46 from loops 45 to permit the loops E6 The functionof cams 42 is similarto the function turningthe initial course of the welt) to the needles. This welt turning implement is sbroadly designated by the reference character 49 and comprises a plurality of parallel spaced hook elements 50 and 5!, together with alternately spaced U-shapedstop elements 52. Each of the hook elements 58 has. a pair of cam surfaces 53, disposed near the left-hand end thereof in Figures 12 to 16. Adjacent the cam surfaces and upon the end of each needle is a spring hook 54, the end of said hook having a ball thereon which is disposed in close proximity to the cam surfaces in practically a closed position. It will be noted that the hook 54 is bent-upwardly so that its spring point will be directed toward the base of the cam surfaces 53.

The structure of alternate hook elements 50 is very similar to the structure of hook elements 5 I. Each element 50 has a pair of cam projections 55 on the hook side thereof but in a st g ered relation to the projections 53 on elements 5|.

Also an upwardly bent spring hook 59 is disposed on the end of element 50, said hook having a ball a to expand sufficiently when passing over earns 42.

of cams 38, namely the expansion of loops .46 topermit the open hooked ends 4| to pass there-. through when making a transfer. I

It is thus seen that by staggering the cam projections 38 and 42, and by providinglong and short hooks, the loops on the short hooks are first transferred'and the loops on the long hooks are next transferred. Such anarrangement makes it possibleto effect a transfer with a minimum amount of slack in'the firstcourse. After the transferhas been completed, the bar 21 is removed, and then the straps 29 are hooked onto rod 48 so that continued knitting of the stocking leg can be eifected.

It is seendn the drawings that there are two cam surfaces on the hook side of each hook element 33 and 34. If desired, a single cam surface 590. on its end which is normally disposed in close proximity to the base cam projections 53, and in practically a closed position. Since the elements 50 andiii are not staggered, it is necessary to make the hook 59 considerably shorter than hook 54. a

The intermediate or alternate stop members 52 are U-shaped as at 52a, said U-shaped portions "being disposed in spaced relation to the opposite sides of cam surfaces 53 and 56 from the hooks 54 and 59. As in the preceding form of the invention the engaging of the initial courses by the hooks 54 and 59 of the welt'members 5| and 5!! involves a simple manual operation. When it is desired to use this form of welt implement, the closed upturned hook portions 5t and 59 are inserted beneath the press edge lba of the sinker bed l5, and in substantially bold line position as shown in Figure 12. Then the implement is released and permitted to fall to dotted line position on top of knock-over bits 2i Sincethe hooks 54 and 59 are bent upwardly, this downward movement of the right-hand end of welt bar 49 in Figure 12 will cause the hooks 54 and 59 to 'be opened. The distance that the hooks 54 and 59 are inserted beneath the press edge varies, but

, the initial course is fed over the nibs of the sinkers oi suitable height and shape may be provided, and essentially the same results can bewbtained in the transfer operation described in connection with Figures 3'to 11 inclusive. The purpose" of providing two surfaces in this first form of the invention is a matter of manufacture rather than thpresult obtained.

Although a partially closed spring hook is associated with each of thehook elements 33, the

invention is not limlted'to hooks of th s type. An

open hook can be used with equally effective results provided the cam projections are of suflicient height and located sufficiently close to the hook to expand the initial loops duringtransfer so that the loops will not: contract quickly enough to'be caught by the hook 7 Figures 12 to 16 inclusive show a slightly modifled form of welt implement and method of re.

and dividers in a. known manner such as shown in Figures 20 to-23 inclusive in the patent to Nebel No. 2,326,964. As in this patent, every other loop of the applicant's initial course is thrown off over the needle heads, owing to the provision of suitable conventional transfer needles (not shown) in the front of every other knitting needle 23. These transfer needles throw ofi every second loop prior to the pressing operation and by further known operations each loop of the first course is enawed by One short hook 59 and one long hook 54. Upon the sinkers anddividers retracting fully between the members 5 and IS, the sinker loops of the first course will-slide beneath the opened hooks 54 and 59, after which it is only necessary to attach the welt bar 49 to the tension straps 29 in the same manner as described in connection with welt bar 21. During the lowering of the needles 23 which draw the initial course against .the tops of the welt hook shanks, the welt bar isman'ually withdrawn, but at the same time hers (Figure 12) beneath the press edge until the initial course is disposed in both the long and short hooks. Figure 14 shows the welt hooks 54 and iil engaging only the first course.

After a suflicient length of the welt has been knitted to the initial course 51, the loops of this course are then moved from beneath the hooks 54 and 59 and slipped over the' cam surfaces 53 and 56 until the U-shaped stop members 52a are engaged. Figures 13 and 15 show the positions of this initial course as it is being returned to the needles 23. In other words, the welt bar is returned to the needles and the hook elements and 5| are inserted between needles 23 in the position shown in Figure 13'until the hooks 5t and 59 are disposed beneath the press edge Ilia and until the U-shaped stop members 52a are disposed directly above the needles 23. It is, of course, necessary that the needles 23 be in the lowered dotted line position shown in Figure 13 when the initial course '57 and bar 49 arefirst returned to the needles. Then the knitting machine is manipulated to cause the needles 23 to be raised from dotted line position upwardly through the U-shaped members 52a and within the loops of the initial loose course 57. With the needles in a raised position, the next succeeding tie course 58 is formed by the needles, which course units the initial course again to the welt fabric, thereby closing the welt and providing a welt of double thickness.

At this time, the welt bar 38 is withdrawn from the position shown in Figure 13 to the position shown in Figure 15. It is seen that as the bar is withdrawn, the loops of the knitted initial course 51, as well as tie course 58, will be expanded at different times by the cam surfaces 53 and 5t sufliciently to permit the hook ends 56 and 59 to pass therethrough without engaging the same. The staggering of the cam surfaces permits the entire slack oi the loop on hooks 5t and 58 to be utilized successively as the respective hook points .55 an 59a respectively are withdrawn to the right as shown in Figures 13 and 15. Although the spring hook ends 54 and 59 will substantially close after the samehave been released from the press edge Isa, the expanded loops of the courses 57 and 58 will permit the hooks to pass therethrough without engaging the same even though the hooks should not be fully closed.

As in the first form of the invention, the cam projections 53 are staggered with relation to cam projections 56 so that only half of the loops in the junction courses will be expanded at a time.

, In other words, the loops, on hooks 5i are first expanded by cam projections 53 and after passing over these projections, the loops on the remaining welt hooks 5E! expanded bycam projections 56.

When the welt bar 49 is completely rernoved, the tension straps 29 are hooked onto a welt rod 48 such as shown in Figure 3 and the knitting of the'stocking leg is continued in a conventional manner. It is seen that the cam surfaces 5? and 56 in this form of the invention likewise serve an important function which permits the welt bar to be easily removed from the fabric after returnin the. loops of the initial course, and without h ing any of the loops upon the hooks.

, The bending up of the hooks Stand 59 greatly reduces the likelihood of the hook oints engagin the initial course when the bar is removed. Nevertheless, if it were not for the cam surfaces 53 and as, the method of removing the bar in a horizontal position without having a latch on the gl d b impractical.

Figures 1'? to 21 inclusive show still another :modified form of the invention which is similar 5 to the form shown in Figures 3 to 10 inclusive except the transfer is, made by positioning the bearded or hook side bf each welt bar element against the back side of a knitting needle, instead of positioning the same against the front side. 'Ifheiwelt turning implement or bar employed in effecting a t1ansfer by this method is broadly designated by-the reference character 60. It is seen that the bar 60 has a plurality of short parallel'hook elements 6| extendin from one edge thereof, each of said elements having a pair of spaced cam projections 62 integral therewith,

thus providing a slot 63 therebetween.

Adjacent the cam surface 52 and in close proximity to the lower edge of slot 63 is a spring hook 64, said hook having a ball point 64a forming one side of the hook throat through which the yarn passes when attaching and transferring the same to and from the welt bar. Communicating with slot 63 and disposed on the same side of element 66 is a shallower slot or groove 63a, and this slot receives the back of the needle to serve as a guide when the bar is pushed farther down upon the needles than shown in Figure 17. Although a spring bearded hook is shown, it is to be understood that hooks having a rigid beard may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

These hook elements 5i are alternately spaced with long hook elements 56, each of said elements 66 having a pair of spaced cam projections 51 on the left-hand side thereof thereby forming a slot '68 therebetween, and this slot 68 receives thebacl:

' side of a needle 23 during the transfer.

Likewise in this form of the invention, the slot &0 68 between the two cam surfaces, has communicating therewith, a shallower groove or slot 88.

This groove 69 is disposed upon the same side of the hook as the cam surfaces and serves to accommodate the back of the knitting needle 23 when 45 the welt bar is moved downwardly upon the needes farther than shown in the drawings.

Attention is called to the fact that the cam surfaces 62 and El are staggered on their respective hook elements for substantially the same reason so as in the preceding forms of the invention, namely that-for permitting only a portion of the loops in the initial courses to be expanded at a time during the transfer.

For example, when the welt has been knitted of 5:, a suflicient length, and it is desired to return the initial courses to the needles, these initial courses are first slipped over the cam projections 62 and El and upon the shanks of the welt hook elements 6i and 66. In other words, the initial 60 courses 3 6 and 36a of the welt fabric will occupy the positions upon the welt hooks 5i and 66 shown 'in Figures 17 and 18. Prior to transfer, these courses will be disposed against the lower sides of knee portions 12 which are formed upon alternate long hooks 55 at a predetermined distance above the cam surfaces. With the fabric and welt bar in the position shown in Figures 17 and 18, the knitting needles 23 are preferably in a lowered position where the upper ends thereof are substan- 70 tially flush with the top of the bits 2 I Alsoat this time, the portion of the fabric which is bein knitted, namely course 360, is disposed below the knock-over bits 2|, and upon the shank of needles 23. The operation and mechanical manipulation necessary to position the body of the welt fabric below the knock-over bits is conventional, and

- therefore, will not'be described, however, it is to be understood that the knitting of the fabric usually takes place above the knock-over bits 2!.

Prior to the transfer, the needles 23 are so moved to cause the fabric engaged thereby to be lowered to the position shown in Figures 17 and 18.

. With the parts in the position shown in Figure 17, the machine is manipulated so that theneedles 23 and the associated welt bar 60 will move to the.

right a sufficient amount to clear the right-hand end of bits 2!, and then upwardly. for a distance equal to the height of the bits. and thenagain to the left so as to position the course 36a. which was formerly below the knock-over bits, above these same bits. The entire assembly is then moved vertically so that the initial courses will slide downwardly over the cam surfaces 62 and fill and onto the shanks of knitting needles 23.

Figure 19 clearly shows the bearded side of the needles 23 and the position they occupy relative to the cam projections -62 and 61 during transfer. The purpose of these cam projections and the slots 63 and 6B is to shield the beards 23a of the needles so that when transfer is being effected the initial courses 36 and 35a can be properly applied to the needles.

or course, these cam projections also hook elements 11 and i8 has a slot extending therethrough at a point opposite thecam projections l9, and this slot is of the proper size to accommodate the upper end of a needle 23 in the manner shown in Figures 22 and 23. Comserve the function of expanding the loops in a manner previously described so that the hooks '64 and 13 will not engage the assoc ated loops when the welt bar is being removed from the fabric after the transfer has been eiiected.

Likewise, in this case, the purpose of providing a very short hook I3 on the end of each alternate long element 66 is to fatilitate the easy removal of its associated loop therefrom during transfer. Since the ends of alternate long elements t6 are bent up a slight amount above the hooks 64 of the remaining elements 61, the loop which is associated with the hook 13 is held very taut, and l therefore, a long hook is not necessary. Furthermore, the Wale-wise distance between the points where hooks l3 engages the loops and the points where hooks 64 engage the loop, is at least equal to the depth of a course and possibly more. Therefore, alternate long hook elements 66 will engage the loops of the first two courses and 36a,

municating with each of the slots 32 is a ove 84 on the bearded or hooked side of the hook ele-' ment. These grooves 84 accommodate the upper end of the needles when the-welt bar is pushed downwardly slightly farther than shown in Fi ure 22 during a transfer.

Attention is called to the Figures 22 and 23. When the initial courses 38 and 36a are first retured to the needles 23, the hooks Bil on the short hook elements ll are pressed against the outer free ends of the needle beards 23a and therefore the welt hooks are closed, whereas the hooks on the longer elements it are disposed slightly below and in spaced relation to the associated beards 23a in the mannershown in Figure 22.

In other words, the free ends of hook portions 80 on short elements H are closed by the end of beards 23a when the transfer bar is first returned, and at the same time, both members 80 and 23a are disposed immediately below a cam projection '59, but the hook 80 on the long ele- 5 ment is not closed at this time;

During transfer, the welt bar is first placed upon the needles in the position shown in Figure 22, and then when the needles 23 and associated welt bar are raised, the welt bar is additionally moved upwardly relative to the needles 23 so that the hooks on the long elements 18 will engage their associated beards23a in the manner shown in Figure 23 to close hooks'llll. During this relative upward movement of bar 15, the hook fian 0n the short element will ride farther upwardly upon their associated beards 23a in the manner shown in Figure 23. The associated came 19 alternately expand the loops in the first courses and thus prevent these loops from whereas the short hook elements 6| will only engage the loops of the first course 36. It should be kept in mind, however. that the same principle is employed in this form of the invention as in the preceding forms, especially as to the method of expanding aportion of the initial course loops at a time during transfer, and also in providing alternate long and short welt hooks.

Figures 22, 23, and 24 show another modified form of the invention which is similar to the preceding forms in many respects. In this form, the v welt bar'is broadly designated by the reference character 15,-which bar has a plurality of short welt hook elements -'|'l and long welt hook elernents 'l8. The difference in length in these hooks should be at least the distance between the iirst two courses of the stocking welt, and possibly greater, for reasons previously describedin connection with the other forms of the invention.

The structure of the welt hooks I1 and 18 is practically identical, each hook having a pair of spaced cam projections 19 on the lower end thereof adjacent a hook point 80, saidprojections being staggered one with the other. The purposeof these cam surfaces 19 is similar to that of the preceding form, namely the expanentering hooks M as the bar is withdrawn. Therefore, it is seen that the principal difference between this form of th invention and the pre- 'ceding form resides in the extension of slot 82 completely through each hook element whereby I the hook portion 80 on the lower end of the element may be closed by the beard 23a of the knitting needles during transfer, and at the same I the preceding forms except certain portions thereof are omitted. This welt bar is broadly designated by thereference character 85' and has a plurality of spaced parallel long and short hook elements 86 and 81 respectively. Each of the needles 86 and 81 has a groove 88 in the back portion thereof, and a book 89 on the lower end thereof. The Wale-wise distance between the hooks 89 of the long and short elements is at least equal tothe distance between the first and second courses of the stockingwelt. In actual opsion of a'portion of the loops of the first courses at a. time during,the transfer. Also each of the eration thisbar differs-from the conventional Welt bar only-in having long and short points 86 and 81 thereby providing means for holding the first above-described welt courseon all of the hooks 89, and for holding the second course on every other hook. As previous'ly stated, this arrangement permits a novel lock stitch to be formed at the welt junction, so that welt runs will not extend into the leg of the stocking.

Figures 26 to 29 inclusive show an improved stocking welt construction which is formed when employing the present invention. This welt is such that a lock stitch will be providedat the point where the initial courses are returned to the stitch junction between the initial courses of the welt, and the leg of the stocking, it will be better to again refer to the structure associated with Figures 3 to -9inclusive. It has been fully described in the specification how the'two initial courses of the stocking welt are attached to the long and short welt hook elements. Briefly, the short hook elements of the welt bar engage every loop of the first course, but do not engage any of the loops of the succeeding courses. whereas the long hook elements engage loops of the first and second courses. Of course, if the long hool;

elements were extended possibly the loops of the third course might be also attached upon the long hooks. v

When the initial courses 36 and 36a, thus engaged by the welt bar hook elements, are-returned to the fabric in a manner such as shown in Figure 9, the first and second course loops on the long hook elements are united with thecor responding loops of the course 360 on the needles, whereas only one course 36 on the short hook elements is united with this same course 360; Referring to Figures 26 to 29 inclusive, the

numeral 90 designates a stocking having a double welt portion 9!, a leg portion 92, and a foot portion 93. When the initial courses 38 and 36d of the welt are transferred from the welt hook elements to the stocking leg, these loops are in terknitted with the course 360 by a coursejiid.

The intermediate courses 36?: form the body of the double welt construction, where as the courses 36, 36a, and 360 and 36d form the junction courses. These courses are broadly designated as junction A.

The loops of courses 36 and 36a are combined with loops 360. in wales 96 by the course 36d, but

in the adjacent wales 91, only the loops of courses sec, 36, 36aand 360! are combined. It is thus seen that of the two initial courses 36 and 380., these courses are combined into .a, single course in the wales 96, whereas these some courses are permitted to remain as separate in wales 9.7. Such a structure as heretofore stated will prevent runs which occur in the welt from extending into the leg portion of the stocking.

Although in the drawings, I have shown a short hooked element alongside a longer hooked element and then repeated this arrangement throughout the length of the welt implement, and" in the specification and the claims I have described this arrangement as being alternate,"

- it is desired to be understood that two or more long hooked elements could be used alongside each other and then one or more short elements could be disposed adjacent this long hook element to accomplish substantially the sameresults. Wherever in the specification and claims reference is made to the term alternate, there is no intention thereby limiting the specification or claims to every other hooked element or to every other loop, but-such a limitation is intended to cover as well structures or methods wherein one or more long hooked elements or loops are inter-' spersed among short elements or loops in regular or irregular order.

I In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in' a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims. I

I claim:

l. A welt transfer bar. for fiat full-fashioned knitting machines, said machines having bearded needles, sinkers and knock-over bits for cooperating with said bar during the knitting of a stocking welt, comprising a plurality of elongated hook elements for engaging alternate loops of the ini tial course of the welt, a plurality of shorter hook elements for supporting the remaining loops of the initial welt course, a transversely disposed member uniting one end of said elements, and means associated with some of said elements for holding the elements in position upon said needles during a transfer.

2. A welt transfer bar for fiat tun-fashioned knitting machines, said machines having bearded needles, sinkers and knock-over 'bits for cooperating with said bar during the knitting oi a stocking welt, comprising a plurality of short hook elements for engaging alternate loops of the initial course when knittingthe welt, a plurality of alternately spaced long hook elements for supporting the remaining loops of the initial welt course, a transversely disposed member uniting one end of said elements, each" of said long and short elements having a shank portion for supporting the initial course loops during a transfer, said shank having a longitudinal groove in the back side thereof and also having a loop ex"- wherein the initial course loops are disposed upon said shank portions above the loop expander and below the sinker level, whereby the initial course loops will slide over the expanders upon the up- --ward movement of said needles and bar and 3. A welt transfer bar for flat full-fashioned knitting machines, said machines having needles,

- sinkers, dividers, and knock-over bits for cooperating with said bar during the knitting of a stocking welt, comprising a plurality of long hook elements for engaging alternate loops of the first two courses of said welt, and a plurality of alternately spaced short hook elements for engaging the remaining loops of the first course, whereby said long hook elements will hold the loops of a plurality of courses during=transfer and the short hook elements hold the loopsxof only one course.

4. A Welt transfer bar for flat full-fashioned knitting machines, said machines having needles,

sinkers, and knock-over bits for cooperating with said bar during the knitting of a stocking welt,

comprising two sets of hook elements comprising a plurality of long hook elements for engaging alternate loops of the first two courses of said welt, and a plurality of alternately spaced short hook elements for engaging the remaining loops of the first course, andmeans associated with the long and short hook elements for expanding the loops on the respective long and'short hook elements at diflerent times prior to said loops passing from said elements during a welt transfirst two courses of the stocking welt, whereby each lo'ng hook element will have the loops of a plurality of courses thereon and each short hook element will have a single loop of the first course thereon.

6. A welt transfer bar for fiat full fashioned knitting machines, said machines having needles, sinkers, and knock-over bits for cooperating with said bar during the knitting of a stocking welt.

ing adapted to receive the initial course of a welt to thereby produce short and long loops thereon respectively so that during a transfer operation, the slack in the long loops will be available to both the long and short hook members.

10. A welt transfer element having a plurality of short and long hook members for engaging the initial course during transfer, means associated with said short hook members for borrowingthe slack from theloops on the adjacent long hook members and means associated with said adjacomprising a plurality of alternately spaced long and short hook elements for engaging the initial courses of said welt, said long hook elements extending beyond said short hook elements-a distance at least equal to the distance between the first two courses of the stocking welt, and means for expanding the loops on each. of said hook elements prior to. said loops passing from said elements during a welt transfer operation;

7 A welt transfer bar for flat full-fashioned knitting machines, said machines having bearded needles, sinkers, and knock-over bits for cooperating with said bar during the knitting of a stocking welt, comprising a plurality-of hook elements for engaging the initial course loops when knitting the welt, a transversely disposed mem-' ber uniting one end of said elements, each of,

said elements having an elongated shank for supporting the initial course loops during a transfer, said shank having a longitudinal slot extending therethrough and disposed opposite the hook on said element, whereby the beard of the associated needle can pass through said slot and engage the end of the hook on said element during a transfer, anda loop expanding member disposed on one side of said shank adjacent the end of said hook, whereby the associated loop will be expanded as it slides off said shank onto said needle during a welt transfer operation:

8. That method of joining the initial welt courses of a" stocking to a subsequent course which comprises releasably holding alternate sinker loops only of the first two courses, and at the same time releasably holding the remaining sinker loops of the first course, then knitting a plurality of subsequent courses,: and then uniting said releasably held loops to the corresponding loops of one of the subsequent courses.

9. A welt transfer element for full-fashioned knitting machines having a plurality of alter nately disposed hook members and a plurality of shorter hook members, the hook members having staggered loop expanding portions associated,

therewith, the long and short hook members beduring a transfer operation, the slack in the initial course disposed on all of the hooks will be borrowed first by the short hook members,

and then by the long hook members to enlarge the loops to permit the needles of the knitting machine to pass through the loops as the welt bar hooks are withdrawn from the stocking.

12. A transfer bar for full-fashioned knitting machines comprising a plurality of long and short elements, each having a hook on. its lower end, alternate elements being long and extending fanther downwardly than the ends of the other short elements whereby the initial course will be knitted onto the short elements, and the initial and second courses will be knitted onto the long elements, each element having an enlargement on its shank portion so that when the welt bar is inserted over the needles of the knitting machines, the enlargem'ents on the elements will borrow slack from the initial course to expand the loops on all of the elements and while the I loops are expanded, thus permitting the needles of the knitting machine to pass therethrough to allow the welt bar hooks to be removed from the expanded loops.

, 13. A welt bar for full-fashioned knitting machines comprising a plurality of hooked elements,

there being two sets of elements alternately disposed throughout the length of the her, one set i of elements being long and the other set being holding means, the enlargements on one set of elements being disposed at a higher level than on the other set of elements, and the short elements being adapted to receive the. initial course of the welt and the longer elements being adapted to receive the initial and second courses of the welt so that. when the welt bar is placed in transfer position relative to the knitting needles, and moved downwardly over the knittingneedles to transfer-the loops to the knitting needles, the enlargements on the short elements will first borrow slack from .the initial course in expanding the loops and then the, enlargements on the shorter elements will regain said borrowed slack from the initial course to expand the loops on the long elements, and with the loops thus expanded and disposed on the knitting needles, all

,largements disposed above and "adjacent the loop v of the hook elements of the welt bar can be with-' drawn through the exp nded loops.

the needles of the knitting machines, the weit 1 bar can be entirely removed from the fabric.

15. A welt transfer bar for fiat full-fashioned knitting machines, said machines having needles, sinkers, and knock-over bits for cooper .ting with said bar during the knitting of a stocking welt, comprising a plurality of alternately spaced long and short hook elements for engaging the initial courses of said welt, said long hook elements extending beyond said short hook elements a distance at least equal to the distance between the first two courses of the stocking welt, and a pair of spaced cam projections on the front side and. disposed adjacent the throat of each of said long and short hook elements, the space, between said projections being adapted to receive the back of a needle, said cam projection being adapted to expand the associated loop beyond the needle beard as said loop slides off said elementfonto the needle during a welt transfer operation.

16. A welt transfer element comprising an elongated shank having a reversely bent hook on one end thereof, said hook having a point on its upper end, said shank having a loop expanding element disposed on the same edge of the shank as the hook point and above said hook, said loop expanding element having a groove therein which is open at both ends and extending longitudinally of the loop expanding element.

17.That method of joining the initial welt courses of a stocking to a subsequent course employing a transfer bar with alternately spaced long and short yarn engaging elements, the steps in which comprise knitting the initial course and transferring the sinker loops onto all of said elements, knitting the second course and transferring alternate sinker loops onto the long ele ments only and then interknitting all of the loops on said long and short elements with the corre sponding loops of a subsequent course.

OTTO F. SMETANA. 

